One of France’s most respected directors of
the postwar era, René Clément created such intense
psychological dramas as Forbidden Games and Purple Noon. The
equally gripping Gervaise, his vivid adaptation of
Émile Zola’s 1877 masterpiece L’assommoir, is an
uncompromising depiction of a laundress’s struggles with an
alcoholic husband while running her own business. Gervaise
was nominated for an Oscar and earned Maria Schell best
actress honors at the Venice Film Festival.

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per
second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate

Audio

French (Dolby Digital 1.0)

Subtitles

English, None

Features

Release Information:
Studio: Criterion

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen - 1.33:1

Edition Details:

• none

DVD Release Date: September
15th, 2009Keep Case

Chapters 21

Comments

Earlier this week when Criterion
announced that many of their titles leased from Studio Canal
were going out of print, it would have been easy to overlook a
lesser known gem like René Clément's "Gervaise" amongst some of
the higher profile titles on the list. An adaptation of one of
Émile Zola’s more obscure entries in his 20 volume Les
Rougon-Macquart series, the film tells the story of a young
mother named Gervaise (exquisitely played by Maria Schell),
whose life is divided between her alcoholic husband and her
troubled lover. Yet things do not go well for her. Every time it
seems that her life is back on track, the forces of fate
conspire against her. Shot in gorgeous black and white, Clément
brilliantly brings Zola's drama to life, creating a world set in
19th century France filled with comedy, tragedy, and the all of
the highs and lows of life. I must admit to really enjoying the
film. My previous experiences with Clément have been limited to
some of his better known films, so it was a real treat to come
across one of his less discussed work. Since this is
unfortunately going to go out of print by the end of March, I
would strongly recommend picking it up.

The image on this disc is nothing
less than stunning. I would have expected the print to look a
little worse the the films in the mainline, but this looks just
about as good as anything that Criterion has ever put out on
standard definition. Presented in its original aspect ratio of
1.33:1, the film exhibits a very high level of contrast between
the blacks and whites with numerous shades of gray in between.
Throughout the print I saw no instances of damage, but unless my
eyes were deceiving me, I did come across two exceptionally
brief instances of artifacting. These were however, exceedingly
minor and you would have to be looking very hard to find them.
Aside from this niggling detail, the print is very sharp and
quite welcome.

The Dolby Digital 1.0 probably ranks among the best instances of
the mono track that I've come across. While it would almost
certainly have sounded better in stereo, the dialogue and music
here are always clear and seemed to be free of all unwanted
background noise (hisses, pops, etc.). The subtitles are clear
(not being a French speaker, I can't comment on their accuracy)
and did not obstruct the image.

Like the other releases in the Essential Art House line,
Gervaise does not come with any extras aside from some very
brief liner notes. Yet, for just under $11.00, I would say that
this near masterpiece belongs on any cinephile's shelf.
Definitely recommended.